This is the Perfect All American Chocolate Torte (TCB) with a frosting of my own—depending on who I’m talking to, it’s called ‘Walnut Fudge Frosting’ or ‘Failed Fudge Frosting.’

The Torte is wonderful!  Super chocolatey and I think I like it even more than the Perfect All American Chocolate Cake.  Both are moist and delicious—I just think this one is a bit moister and a bit more delicious.  Only difference is all egg yolks rather than whole eggs.  It is from this cake that I learned how my new oven does not like cake strips!  I forgot to use them on my first cakes in it (Golden Lux), and they came out better than any cake I’d made, but I used the strips for this cake.  You can see from the sliced-into-cake and also a bit in the cake slice how one side of each layer is WAAAAAAYYYY lower than the other side—like by almost half!  I had to match high/low and low/high to get a level cake!  No more cake strips for me!

The frosting was made from some walnut fudge that didn’t set up.  I added butter, walnut butter and ground almonds to make it into frosting.  It came out great!!!  The only slight hitch was that, when making the walnut butter, a walnut piece must have had a little piece of shell, because some bites had some crunchies that I couldn’t attribute to anything else.  *sigh*

Everyone loved it, even folks who don’t like nuts!  This torte makes a great layer cake if you’re in the market for chocolate layers!!!

I know, I know, you’re all saying, “OMG!  I can’t believe this post isn’t 16 pages long like usual!”  ; )

Anne, can you pretty please e-mail me a slice at work tonight?  That looks so good!!!  I must try this cake now from reading your description of it.
I am still looking for a ” my to go chocolate cake ”  I have tried the deep dark passion chocolate cake and I love it, but, I can never get the full height of the layers when I bake it.  I have no clue why.

So glad you found a use for your failed walnut fudge.  The frosting sounds divine.

Ahhhh, the Classic American Chocolate Layer Cake!  Looks absolutely scrumptious, Anne, just perfect.  Great save on the frosting!

Thanks, Julie and Liza! 

Anne, can you pretty please e-mail me a slice at work tonight?

Sure, but be sure to chill it first before opening, or all the frosting will sick to the Tyvek!  LOL!

The torte is a magnificient cake—definitely worth trying if you haven’t made it—and I think if I hadn’t had the cake strip problem, the layers would have been full height (and certainly the same height on both sides).  Thanks for the compliments on the frosting save!  The fudge was so yummy, I couldn’t bear to not use it somehow.  Adding the butter and walnut butter made it taste like chocolate cake frosted with brownie batter!!!

It looks so good Anne. And your description of it made me want a piece. Can you also send one over? .
Great save on the frosting - I’m fascinated with your creativity Anne! I think I would have chucked it and started over!

Thanks, Jenn!!!

I think I would have chucked it and started over!

The only other possible resolution to the extremely yummy failed fudge involved a spoon and a subsequent tummy ache (not to mention highly glazed visage)....so I went with the frosting option!

Whoa Nelly! Where is the milk? Where is my slice?

Your layer cakes always come out so beautifully!  You have really mastered that new oven, I must say.  So funny how it doesn’t like cake strips!  I’m thinking about buying Rose’s silicone ones just to try them out, though I am pretty happy with the magi-cake strips.  Did you ever try them (pre-new oven)?

Thanks for the compliments, Bernadette & Loop!

Loop, I always made my cake strips with the paper towel / aluminum foil method.  I’d use the heavy duty foil so I could reuse them.  When the cake was done, I’d open the cake strips and put the whole things in the (off but still warm) oven to dry the paper towels and then use them again the next time.

I have had good luck with Regency strips. They seem to perform a little better than my Wilton and Magi-cake strips.